it's the most wonderful time of the year

i love christmas. and it is so great this year to have my very own little home to decorate. i went and got my tree last weekend with a group of students and have been busy making things cheery and bright. my sweet grandma lenore has made me (and all her 100+) grandchildren a homemade ornament every year for my entire life. most of the ornaments shown here are made with love by her. i treasure them. most of my glass ornaments belonged to my great grandpa webster and are such fun vintage patterns and designs.

cooking

i love to cook. it's creative, thoughtful, delicious, and my time to unwind and sort of meditate as i prepare something to nourish body and mind. i love to cook for other people. i love putting thought and energy into something that literally does those i love some good. but this year i've cooked very little. part of my payment is getting to eat for free at the cafeteria here at WA. the food here is good, and there is variety, and i'm usually bone tired by the end of the day and the thought of hot food with no dishes usually wins out. i've held to breakfast as my meal home and usually make some sort of egg something beings how i've got 5 laying hens. but sometime before thanksgiving break i hit a wall. a 'i don't want to eat my dinners in the cafeteria anymore' wall. and since the break i've made all my own food at home every night minus mandatory dress up dinner. it's been great. it's making me so happy. mostly i eat alone, quietly by my pretty christmas tree. some nights i invite someone to share with me. here are some recent meals gracing my table:
this is my made up mushroom and brown rice soup. i just sauteed a chopped onion, and cuisen arted a pound of two of small brown mushrooms, and then added them to the sautee as well as a cup and a half (or so, just what was left in the bag) of brown basmati rice. i sauteed all that till the mushrooms had let off a lot of juice, then i threw in a quart of my homemade chicken stock from last winter (still have bags and bags of it frozen), some bay leaves, rubbed sage, cracked pepper, sea salt and let it cook awhile till the rice started to soften. it got so thick it was almost like risotto, so i added some water .. . and some chardonnay (a couple of good sloshes) and let it cook till the rice was done. then i took one of those hand held blender thingies and blended it a bit. the result? deliciouso. very hearty and warming soup.
next up is my classic caramalized onion, gorgonzola, pine nut and rosemary pizza (on crust from the chez pannise cookbook) but this time i added some chopped up butternut squash i had lightly blanched. MMMMMMMM. so good. and i love the color the squash adds!
and last but not least, some dolces. ehsweeties. it was one of my advisee's birthday, so i took all those eggs that are over running my fridge and made a chiffon cake that was oh so light and fluffy with this amazing glaze that made it look, and sort of taste like a giant doughnut. the recipe was from my ever favorite cook's illustrated baking book. now it's time to gear up for all the holiday baking and making . . . gingerbread, marshmallows, and maybe some mexican pickled carrots.

favorite things

i'm not oprah. nor do i want to be. but i have favorite things, more a la maria von trapp/julie andrews favorite things. things that make it all better. things that warm my heart. so maybe this month i'll share a few with you:
1. SNOW. lots of it. it sure made my morning to wake up to 7 fresh inches with more on the way. i also LOVE making paper snowflakes. and i make LOTS of them.
2. i love love love this tea. you should try it. it's warm and sweet and delicious. perfect for a wintry day. even more perfect with some cream in it. try is in a thermos on a snowshoeing outing.
3. i love flannel sheets and more especially flannel nightgowns. anyone whose lived with me knows it's true. and yes i have the same one i had as a girl in grown up size and wear it most nights.
4. i really love this shade of nars nail polish. i used to hate nail polish on my fingers. and then i lived with kate. end of story.
5. i love gaiters. they keep the snow out and are ever so handy whether in the mountains or city. best winter accessory by far.
6. i love love love reading good books curled by the fire. LOVE it. i just bought a copy of one of my favorite winter time reads; 'winter's tale' by mark helprin (however, please note while i love this book i HATE the ending, it's still worth it though). it's got some of the most magical, beautiful story telling i've ever read and is such a treat to read.
7. i la la love good christmas music (by which i mean old classics, choral music, non-schmultzy covers, and not the stuff you hear in a mall). lately this is the one i've got on repeat (plus i love 'efl').

r.i.p. maynard dixon bennion

yesterday a tragedy struck our family when our sweet sweet dixon the dog was taken prematurely by a hunter in the hills south of spring city. rather then dwell on the inhumanity of the hunters actions, i want to say a few things about this dearest dog. dixon, or as i always called him dixal pixal was the soul of Christ-like kindness in doggie form. he NEVER ever growled. not once in his life. he was always sweet, tender, unassuming, humble, completely obedient, tolerant of others (he endlessly submitted to being ernie's chew toy), happy, self sufficient, gentle, mellow, and always ready to go on a long walk or hike in the hills. he was the sort of friend everyone dreams of, one who always makes you feel like you are most special and beloved, one who gives and takes in equanimity, one who will defend and protect you against any aggressor, one who loves snuggling and taking naps by the fire, and one who is always ready to go on an adventure. he was never obnoxious either, some dogs want love so much they are always pestering you for it, but dixon (while he LOVED being loved and petted) would ask gently and not beg incessantly. he always made the funniest high pitched squealing whines when he knew you were getting ready to take him for a walk, and loved to hike right behind me. i will greatly miss our sweet dear dixon and hope that he is reunited with old kane and all our other doggies up in dog heaven. thank you dixon for being such a good example on how to be kind and true.

i totally stole this from davey because it made my heart explode

old friends are like quilts

comfortable, beautiful, made with love and care over a long period of time, something you keep forever. one of my dearest old friends is ashley thayer. we met at a pony club meeting when i was 12 and she was 13. my mom invited her to sleep over and that was the start of inseparability during our young teen years. we would ride horses (usually bareback) all over spring city, hide out in the soccer field late at night, make mix tapes (crazy edna files), make waffles (and dream of the breakfast restaurant we would one day open that would have a big outdoor garden, horses, and a rule that everyone be wearing flannel pjs) and share our secrets and dreams. then in college we would visit each other in our respective providence and broxville, and then there was the year i lived in florence and she in rome and we had christmas in switzerland together. as we've grown older our lives have made it impossible to ride bikes between our houses, but when we talk (usually once a year or so) and even better see each other, its just like old times. we talked last week and it was so great. i love ash. and i LOVE the new project she's been working on, quilt making! out of hand died fabrics! (i hope my efforts to run my own tie dye business back in the day maybe influenced her?) aren't they GORGEOUS!!!??? not to mention her stunning paintings and photography, check her out here. buy some.

i've been meaning to post this for a few weeks

and haven't. the moonrise this last full moon, south of fountain green. it was so lovely i pulled off the road and just watched it and sighed and felt grateful to live in such a beautiful world, and inspired by how effortlessly nature is magnificent even when no one is noticing. (of course this photo does no justice to just how subtle and refined the gradation of blues and pinks and purples was, or how the sky looked almost matte while the moon was so slick and shiny and the creamiest butteriest light).

preparedness

i've always associated oil lamps with preparedness. maybe its the story of the ten virgins, or more likely all the night when we ate dinner by lamp light when the power went out and i always felt safe knowing we had sources of light if the world came crashing down. my friend just shared these most beautiful oil lamps with me . . . can i rationalize 'needing' one so that my home is sufficiently prepared?

babe town

look at my super cute mom! she got her hair all chopped off and it looks great. she's been thinking about it for awhile, and i convinced her to go see my lady melanie who is a hair cutting genius. way to go mom! you look fabulous!

both favorites, or this post is dedicated to kate and the night i played this song for you and told you it reminded me of you and your soul mate

i just discovered that this song that i really love by feist

was originally recorded by another one of my favorites vashti bunyan

makes sense.

paris je t'aime

bonjour mes amis! today pat and i made an announcement about the trip we are taking to france for spring break, and we figured we'd get more kids to sign up if we looked legit. so here is how i look as a french man. and this morning i was making eggs (all i eat for breakfast since my hens are still laying so much!) and seasoned them with my all time favorite seasoning . . . sunny paris! from penzey's spices. if you've never hear of either, you are living a sad and flavorless life. sunny paris is the most delicious blend of french purple shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf. it is lovely in anything savory- eggs, meat, pasta . . . just a little bit of french sunshine to brighten your day.

lov-er-ly

my friend put this song on a mix for me recently, and it's been on a pretty much non-stop loop in my head since then. i love it. i can't listen to it enough. so i thought i'd share the love. it's the perfect sound track for this brooding pre-snow day. xoxo

a capitol time in the reef

another camping weekend, this time to capitol reef. i love capitol reef. it's one of the parks that gets less traffic then arches or zions, and it's so simple and lovely and quaint. i love the dreamy big cotton woods (that were ablaze in gold!) the fruit orchards, pioneer vestiges, and great hiking. we spent the night under the crisp cold stars (after reveling around the fire with stories and songs), and the next morning hiked the kohab trail to the frying pan trail, to cassidy arch (yup ol' butch used to hang there) and then down to grand wash. it was a lot of fun, replete with more ipod karaoke (an unsuspecting couple hiked up upon my incredible rendition of bob marley's 'three little birds') and lots of laughing in the sunshine.

need my card?

well you got it. i suppose i've 'arrived' now that i have my very own business card. weird.

ma seour en france

my dear older sister louisa left last week to live in a tiny village nestled in the south of france for a year. sigh. good thing i'll be going to visit her . . . maybe twice. as per my request she started a blog to make the rest of us poor lab rats jealous. start drooling now.

in case you were wondering . . .

what i would look like with a fro and a grill . . .

it seems appropriate today